After the confession, everything changed between them. For the first time since their forced marriage, Azrael and Lyanna stopped pretending. They weren't acting like a happy couple anymore, they had actually become one.
They spent their mornings chatting with each other over breakfast, during afternoons they worked together on political matters, and at night, they'd fall asleep wrapped in each other's arms.
The empathic bond was probably gone. Lyanna didn't feel it anymore. But she didn't care about it. She was sure of his feelings now.
As time passed, she immersed herself in learning vampire politics and court administration. Meanwhile, Azrael slowly let his walls down, letting her see parts of himself he had kept hidden for centuries.
They were trying to build something real, trying to prove that love can blossom even in the most damaged place. But what they had was still fragile, it wasn't ready for real tests, but that test came sooner than they had expected.
